Abstract
Plastics are an integral part of modern society, providing countless benefits to nearly every aspect of our lives. They are essential for protective coatings, lightweight packaging, food preservation, and access to life-saving medical devices, and they play a vital role in the manufacturing of electronic devices, vehicles, and energy technologies, to name just a few applications. Due to the versatility and adaptability of polymers, commercial plastic production has skyrocketed since the emergence of the modern polymer industry in the 1950s. In 2025, over 400 million metric tons of plastics were produced globally, and production continues to rise.
On the flip side of the vast utility of synthetic polymers are the reliance on non-renewable fossil feedstocks and the adverse impacts of accumulating plastic waste on the environment and human health. Less than 10% of plastics produced are recycled, and there are differing interpretations of what constitutes recycling. In this lecture, I provide an overview of plastic production and discuss solutions for recycling some of the most difficult-to-recycle materials, namely thermoset plastics. I also present our own approaches focused on implementing chemical technologies to address the recycling of these challenging plastics.
